Michelle Wu

Rule Changes

Supports the camera program

Boston's bid window for a school bus stop-arm camera contractor closed Oct. 30 at 1 p.m., and the city has not publicly named a vendor. The contract covers a three-month pilot on 25 buses that would send warning letters before any fines.

Updated 6 days ago

Built World

Overseeing the Squares+Streets rezoning process

Sunrise Cafe Bagels & Diner opened in the former Papa Gino's space at Hyde Park Avenue and River Street in Hyde Park, keeping the old pizza oven. The Boston Licensing Board approved its plans in August 2026, and the 34-seat restaurant opens at 6 a.m. The menu includes eggs, pancakes, waffles, bagels and breakfast tacos, with lunch tacos also offered.

Updated Oct 30

Rule Changes

Announced the reforms and licensing board appointment

A new restaurant in Boston could open in two weeks instead of four months. Mayor Michelle Wu announced October 27 that the city will drop the zoning-board approval currently required for takeout service, cutting a major step from the permitting process.

Updated Oct 28

Rule Changes

Facing $2 billion tax revenue shortfall

The Boston Policy Institute, a watchdog launched in late 2023, has joined the Pioneer Institute to form the Pioneer City Initiative, with co-founder Greg Maynard running it as a senior fellow. The groups announced the move on Oct. 19, and one of the unit's first acts was to seek Boston Public Schools documents and invoices tied to more than $857,000 the state inspector general flagged.

Updated Oct 26

Built World

Vowed to push for a long-term Fields Corner lease and said Boston is prepared to pursue legal action to reopen the Allston branch; her administration has requested a meeting with Postmaster General David Steiner and USPS District Manager Carissa Shea.

The Fields Corner post office will stay open at 218 Adams St. after USPS secured a lease extension announced Oct. 23, three days before the branch was to shut. The extension runs through April 27, 2027, and the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services says the city hopes to secure a long-term lease. City Councillor John FitzGerald credited Senator Ed Markey's office and the developer and attorney at the O'Hearn Building with bringing the parties together.

Updated Oct 26

Rule Changes

Housing push now has its first concrete policy output

Boston's planning board voted Thursday to back property tax deferrals for four stalled apartment projects in Charlestown and Allston-Brighton. They are One Mystic Avenue in Charlestown, 22-24 Pratt Street and Allston Yards Building D in Allston, and 83 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway in Brighton. The projects total about 1,400 apartments, including at least 185 income-restricted units.

Updated Oct 25

Built World

As of October 2026: Championing free transit expansion

Boston plans to launch free shuttle service in Allston-Brighton, the Seaport and Charlestown by early 2027, with routes for Roxbury and Mattapan still being chosen through a competitive procurement. The expansion of the city's Link program is backed by $11.5 million in federal money first awarded through the Federal Highway Administration, and aims to connect residents to MBTA stations.

Updated Oct 11

Rule Changes

As of October 2026: Leading the lawsuit against the Trump administration

Boston filed a federal lawsuit on September 28 to restore a $20 million transportation grant the Trump administration revoked in September 2025. The funding was meant to redesign three major Roxbury corridors and improve pedestrian safety, transit access, and stormwater management.

Updated Oct 2

Built World

As of September 2026: In office, overseeing housing policy

The Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved two housing projects on September 18. A Brighton commercial building will gain 42 apartments in a three-story addition, and a Dorchester project will create 20 homeownership units near the MBTA's Ashmont station.

Updated Sep 18

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Appointed Knight after a seven-month search

Boston's top economic development job sat empty for seven months, and two candidates turned it down over salaries. Wu filled it Wednesday with Emily Knight, who runs The Engine, a Cambridge incubator that turns MIT research into startups.

Updated Sep 16

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Active

Boston said it will not use Flock Safety cameras. A city report showed the vendor shared license plate data with outside agencies during a 2025 pilot, a violation of the police contract. Mayor Michelle Wu said the city has 'abandoned Flock.'

Updated Sep 16

Money Moves

As of September 2026: Presented a City of Boston proclamation recognizing the office

Enterprise Singapore opened its Boston office on September 9 — the agency's fifth in the United States and the first Southeast Asia trade outpost in the city. It sits inside the Cambridge Innovation Center, minutes from the Kendall Square biotech cluster that anchors American life sciences.

Updated Sep 11

Built World

As of September 2026: In office

A Woburn developer sold a downtown Boston office building approved for conversion into 95 apartments for $8.6 million, or about $90,500 per approved home. KS Partners won the conversion approval in April 2025, then sold the site rather than build it.

Updated Sep 8

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Endorsed challengers in two Senate primaries and an incumbent in a third; one challenger lost, one is in a recount, and the incumbent she backed lost

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu backed challengers to two state senators who blocked her property tax plan in January. One challenger, Latoya Gayle, lost to Senator Nick Collins; the other, Daniel Lander, trails incumbent William Brownsberger by 34 votes ahead of a recount due Sept. 11.

Updated Sep 6

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Championed the upgrade legislation

Boston's Licensing Board approved a Beacon Hill market's request to sell scotch and aged tequila alongside its beer and wine, brushing aside neighbors' warnings that BuzzBallz-maddened teenagers would swarm the State House area. Owner Barznab Khan said he would swap some wines and beers for the spirits, and agreed not to sell micro bottles or singles.

Updated Sep 6

Built World

As of August 2026: Championing the Madison Park rebuild; administration directed Parcel P3 siting review

Boston City Council voted 12-0-1 on July 8, 2026 to spend $5 million on feasibility studies for Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. It's the biggest concrete step yet toward a promised rebuild of the aging Roxbury campus.

Updated Aug 26